Tanner Elle Schneider (born July 3, 1989), known professionally as Elle King, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her musical style is influenced by

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

, rock, and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

. She signed with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

to release her debut extended play, '' The Elle King EP'' (2012); one of its tracks, "Playing for Keeps", became the theme song for VH1's '' Mob Wives Chicago'' series. King's debut studio album, '' Love Stuff'' (2015), was led by the single " Ex's & Oh's", which peaked within the top ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was nominated for two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s. Her 2021 single, " Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)" (with

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country music, country singer. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place ...

), peaked within the chart's top 40 and preceded the release of her third album, '' Come Get Your Wife'' (2023). She has also toured with acts such as

Of Monsters and Men Of Monsters and Men is an Icelandic indie folk/Folk rock, rock band formed in Garðabær in 2010. It consists of lead singer and guitarist Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, singer and guitarist Ragnar Þórhallsson, Ragnar "Raggi" Þórhallsson, ...

Train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

James Bay James Bay (, ; ) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. It borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and is politically part of Nunavut. Its largest island is Akimiski Island. Numerous waterways of the ...

The Chicks The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. The band consists of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and Emily Strayer ...

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

, Joan Jett, Michael Kiwanuka, and

. Her parents are actor and comedian

Rob Schneider Robert Michael Schneider ( ; born October 31, 1963) is an American actor and comedian. He rose to prominence as a cast member on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' (1990–1994), where he earned three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Following ...

and former model London King. She uses her mother's surname to distinguish herself and her career and identity from her father's, telling

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

that "I think that my voice and my music speaks for itself: that I am my own person." King is a four-time Grammy Award nominee, two each in the rock and country categories, and received honors from the

Country Music Association Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony f ...

and the

Academy of Country Music Awards The Academy of Country Music Awards, also known as the ACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the first country music awards program held by a major organization. The academy ...

Early life

Tanner Elle Schneider was born on July 3, 1989, in

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...

, to American comedian and actor

and American model London King. Her parents divorced when she was an infant and she and London moved to

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. She was raised in Columbus and Wellston. Her mother remarried Justin Tesa in 2000. When she was nine, her stepfather, Justin Tesa, gave her a record by all-female hard-rock band the Donnas; she views this as the pivotal moment when she decided she wanted to be a musician. Around this time, she also started listening to

the Runaways The Runaways were an American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. Formed in 1975 in Los Angeles, the band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are " Cherry Bomb", " Holl ...

and Blondie, and she made her acting debut alongside her father in the movie '' Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo''. At the age of 13, King started playing guitar, immersing herself in the music of

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

, the

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek), guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are compleme ...

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer. He is best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Tired of ...

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

(she has the phrase "dirty deeds" tattooed on her biceps), and

Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-finge ...

. Her interest in the

and bluegrass of Hank Williams and Earl Scruggs inspired her to learn the banjo. During her teenage years, she attended Buck's Rock camp in Connecticut, where she starred successfully in a number of musicals. King spent her teenage years in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, but she has also lived in Los Angeles,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. Upon graduating from Elisabeth Irwin High School/Little Red School House, she moved to Philadelphia to enroll at the University of the Arts, studying painting and film. During these college years, she had an artistic epiphany seeing a live show where the band onstage used a

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

purely for accompaniment purposes, eschewing the bluegrass and country musical vocabulary traditionally associated with the instrument. King then began to use the banjo as a compositional tool. After college, she briefly lived in Copenhagen and Los Angeles, before moving back to New York. She currently lives in Nashville.

Career

1999–2013: Career beginnings

In 1999, she debuted as an actress in her father's film '' Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo''. In 2005, at age 16, she started gigging around New York City, using a fake ID to gain entry to the local nightclubs. King immersed herself in the local songwriting scene and honed her performance skills by busking around town. King was then signed by newly appointed RCA Chairman Peter Edge. Her debut single "Good To Be A Man", was released on March 13, 2012, as a digital download and also as a 7" vinyl single. On June 12, 2012, the four-song '' The Elle King EP'' was released on RCA. The EP was recorded in New York and was produced by Andy Baldwin and Chris DeStefano, with King herself producing a track. The EP's lead track, "Playing for Keeps", was chosen as the theme song for VH1's ''Mob Wives Chicago'' series that premiered on June 10, 2012, on VH1. King was spotlighted as an "Artist to Watch in 2012" by ''

Esquire Magazine ''Esquire'' is an American men's magazine. Currently published in the United States by Hearst, it also has more than 20 international editions. Founded in 1933, it flourished during the Great Depression and World War II under the guidance of ...

'' and made television appearances on ''VH1 Big Morning Buzz Live'' and the ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

''. King has played

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, at the

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

Festival, as well as the

Hammersmith Apollo The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly and still commonly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Pa ...

. She has also taped her own PBS ''Arts In Context'' special for KLRU Austin at the

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American Concert, live music Television show, television program recorded and produced by KLRU, Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", an ...

recording studio. She toured with

and Michael Kiwanuka and has opened for Dashboard Confessional,

Dropkick Murphys Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The current lineup consists of co-lead vocalist and bassist Ken Casey, drummer Matt Kelly, co-lead vocalist Al Barr (on hiatus from the band since 202 ...

, Dry the River,

and

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

2014–present: ''Love Stuff'', ''Shake the Spirit'' and ''Come Get Your Wife''

In September 2014, King released " Ex's & Oh's", which serves as the lead single off her debut album. She released the album, '' Love Stuff'' on February 17, 2015. She performed "Ex's & Oh's" the next day on '' The Today Show'' to promote it. The song reached number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming King's first top ten single in the United States. "Ex's & Oh's" received two nominations at the 58th Grammy Awards: Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song. In July 2015, King supported

Modest Mouse Modest Mouse is an American rock music, rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members were lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock (musician), Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green and ba ...

on their UK tour. " Under the Influence" and "

America's Sweetheart "America's Sweetheart" is an unofficial title used by the American media to describe a public figure who is widely admired and beloved by the public. The title is typically bestowed upon a young woman publicly perceived as wholesome, charming, ...

" were later released as singles for rock radio and mainstream radio, respectively. In 2016, her single "Good Girls" featured on the ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three eccentric ...

'' soundtrack and played over the movie's credits. In 2016, she teamed up with country singer

Dierks Bentley Frederick Dierks Bentley (; born November 20, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Bentley moved to Nashville in the late 90s to pursue a career in music, leading up to his releasing the self-funded and independent album Do ...

for the song " Different for Girls". They performed this song at the 50th CMA Awards on November 2, 2016, when she and Bentley won the award for Musical Event of the Year. On March 6, 2017, she premiered a new single "Wild Love" featuring a sparse electronic production, marking a slight departure from her previous style in music. King released her second studio album, '' Shake the Spirit'', on October 19, 2018, which she made with her band the Brethren. On August 3, 2019, she was featured singing on a version of Lindsey Stirling's "The Upside". Throughout 2019, King served as a guest co-host on the MTV series '' Catfish: The TV Show'' opposite lead host Nev Schulman. In 2022, she featured on a remix of Canadian singer Dax's single " Dear Alcohol". King's third album, '' Come Get Your Wife'', was released on January 27, 2023, and displays a move into country music. On January 19, 2024, an intoxicated King performed at the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

to honor

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

's 78th birthday. The Grand Ole Opry later issued an apology.

Musical style and influences

According to ''The Guardian'', King's musical style is "steeped in every genre of vintage Americana – sassy

rock'n'roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African American music such as jazz, rhythm and ...

, vampy R&B,

sadness and a little

." King's music was classified as

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

by ''

Nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

'', and as

alternative country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

by '' Alternative Nation''. According to King, "I say that I sing a little bit of

country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...

, ..it kind of changes from song to song, whatever I'm listening to or feeling. Sometimes it's really country, sometimes it's soulful, sometimes it's, like, wrist-slitting

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

; sad songs." She cited

and

as her musical influences.

Personal life

King married a Scottish man named Andrew "Fergie" Ferguson on February 14, 2016. The two met only three weeks prior to their wedding, in a hotel lobby in London, England, and announced their engagement 12 days later. She spoke about their relationship on an episode of ''

Say Yes to the Dress ''Say Yes to the Dress'' is an American reality television series on TLC which follows events at Kleinfeld Bridal in Manhattan. The series shows the progress of individual sales associates, managers, and fitters at the store, along with profili ...

'' and had his name and their wedding date tattooed on her chest. Ferguson was arrested on one count of

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...

domestic violence on April 23, 2017 in

and a divorce petition was filed on May 15, 2017. Criminal charges against Ferguson were later dropped and the two briefly reconciled but ended their relationship permanently in 2018. On October 9, 2020, King became engaged to tattoo artist Dan Tooker, after dating for one year. She gave birth to their son Lucky Levi Tooker on September 1, 2021. On March 25, 2024, King revealed that the two had ended their relationship. On September 23, 2024, King announced she was pregnant with her second son with Tooker. She announced the pregnancy onstage during a Baby Daddy's Weekend tour stop in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

on September 22 and then shared the news on Instagram. She also confirmed that she and Tooker had gotten back together. On February 28, 2025, King and Tooker welcomed their second son named Royal Tooker. King reportedly has 55

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

s, including one of a snake on her neck and the word "brethren" in cursive on her butt cheek. She told Kate Branch of ''Vogue'' in 2018 that she got her first tattoo when she was 14 years old. She once worked at a tattoo company called East Side Ink. In August 2024, King discussed her childhood and her relationship with her father

on an episode of Bunnie Xo's podcast ''Dumb Blonde''. She described her relationship with Schneider as an "ebb and flow" and that currently, the two were "not flowing." On growing up with Schneider, she said she would stay summers with him on film sets but that the two rarely spent time together as he was working and that she refused to spend any more summers with him after he decided to send her to weight loss camp. She also mentioned that Schneider would often forget her birthday and that she did not agree with his recent comments about women, transgender people, and vaccines. Schneider later issued a public apology to her during an interview with

Tucker Carlson Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American conservative political commentator who hosted the nightly political talk show '' Tucker Carlson Tonight'' on Fox News from 2016 to 2023. Since his contract with Fox News was term ...

, saying he loved her and that he hoped she could forgive him for his shortcomings as a father. In response, King said that her father apologizing on Carlson's show is "like a

double negative A double negative is a construction occurring when two forms of grammatical negation are used in the same sentence. This is typically used to convey a different shade of meaning from a strictly positive sentence ("You're not unattractive" vs "You ...

... means nothing".

Discography

Studio albums * '' Love Stuff'' (2015) * '' Shake the Spirit'' (2018) * '' Come Get Your Wife'' (2023)

Filmography

Film

Television

Concert tours

Headlining

* Love Stuff Tour (2015) * Shake The Spirit Tour (2019) * A-FREAKIN-MEN Tour (2022)

Opening act

* Dashboard Confessional – The Swiss Army Romance (2010) *

– My Head Is an Animal Tour (2011) *

– California 37 Tour (2012) * Michael Kiwanuka – Home Again Tour (2012) *

– Signed and Sealed in Blood Tour (2013) *

– + Tour (2013) * Dry the River – Alarms in the Heart Tour (2014) *

– Chaos and the Calm Tour (2015) *

– Strangers to Ourselves Tour (2015) *

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...

– Maroon V Tour (2016) *

Dixie Chicks The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. The band consists of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and Emily Stra ...

– DCX MMXVI World Tour (2016) *

– Roadside Bars and Pink Guitars Tour (2019) * Joan Jett &

– Love Alive Tour (2019) * Chris Stapleton - Chris Stapleton's All-American Road Show (2022) *

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her Melissa Etheridge (album), eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the Billbo ...

- Summer Tour (2023) *

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

- Girls Just Want To Have Fun Farewell Tour; Columbus, Ohio (2024)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Elle 1989 births Living people Punk blues musicians Musicians from Los Angeles RCA Records artists Singers from Ohio American indie rock musicians Songwriters from California Songwriters from Ohio University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni American alternative rock singers American alternative rock musicians 21st-century American singers Country pop musicians 21st-century American women singers Little Red School House alumni People from Bushwick, Brooklyn American child actresses 21st-century American actresses American film actresses American television actresses American banjoists American people of Jewish descent